Holiday Parade

Here's all the info you need on the downtown Dallas Holiday Parade

I love a parade.

Courtesy photo

The mammoth Dallas Holiday Parade takes place on Saturday, December 1, which will bring great festivity to downtown Dallas, but also a transportation tangle or two.

The parade will begin at 10 am in front of Union Station and takes about an hour. But a number of downtown streets will be closed that morning beginning as early as 7 am, and DART bus passengers will likely find their routes on detour.

The closures and bus detours will begin at about 7 am and run until about 1 pm. If you were planning on a delicious vegan-friendly lunch at the Zodiac Room at Neiman Marcus, maybe go for a late lunch at 1:30 pm to be on the safe side.

The annual parade is expected to draw hundreds of thousands into the downtown area, and begins at 10 am at Commerce and Houston streets. It travels down Commerce to Harwood to Canton, Griffin, and Young, where it will disperse.

Most north and south cross-streets. such as Griffin, Field, and Ervay, will be closed by about 9 am, depending on crowd density.

Commerce will be closed from 7 am-1 pm, as will the staging area, which consists of the blocks in front of Union Station, between Houston and Lamar, and between Young and Commerce.

If you like to watch a parade get prepped, Union Station is the place to be.

A parade festival will begin at 8 am in both Main Street Garden and Belo Garden. The festival will continue until noon.

This year's parade will feature spirited marching bands, famous characters, magical holiday floats, larger-than-life balloons, and much more. While it's free to attend, those wanting assigned bleacher seating for the parade can purchase tickets by clicking here.

They've already begun building bleachers on Commerce for viewing. We're just like New York.

The area around Dallas City Hall will be closed from 9 am-12 noon. One block of Akard Street, between Main and Commerce Streets, right next to the Adolphus, will shut down on Friday night.

DART will augment its normal rail schedule with additional lines as follows:

2 Green Line trains: 7:15 and 8:14 am from North Carrollton/Frankford Station
3 Blue Line trains: 7:19, 7:49, and 8:19 a.m. from Downtown Rowlett Station
4 Red Line trains: 6:48, 7:18, 7:48, and 8:18 a.m. from Parker Road Station

Additional rail service will also be available at the event's conclusion.

But surely you'll want to stick around for the Klyde Warren Park Holiday Show and Tree Lighting, taking place from 2-6 pm.

This free event features a festive day of family-friendly activities and entertainment, including photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus, face painting, crafts, games, refreshments — and, for the first time, real snow. The day will culminate with a special live show featuring Christmas music, the arrival of Santa Claus, and their annual tree lighting.

And if you've stuck around that long, surely you'll want to linger a little longer for the Reliant Lights Your Holidays event at Sammons Park at the AT&T Performing Arts Center at 2403 Flora St., where they’ll be illuminating the Center’s campus with dazzling LED lights to celebrate the arrival of the holiday season.

This festival, also free, includes kids' arts and crafts, a fireworks show, and holiday concert featuring Sheila E., Anita N. Martinez Ballet Folklorico, and Santa Claus.

Consult DART.org or call 214-979-1111 if your travel plans include Routes 2, 11, 12, 19, 21, 26, 29, 35, 42, 52, 59, 60, 76, 81/82, 110, 111, 161, 164, D-Link (722) or 749. Click here to view bus detour information.

holidays downtown

family values

Dallas sees Texas' biggest one-year jump in cost of raising kids

Courtesy of SmartAsset/iStock

Raising a child in Dallas will cost parents over $23,000 this year.

Raising a child is not an easy or inexpensive feat, and a new study has determined Dallas parents are saddled with the second-highest costs for childrearing in Texas, with expenses jumping higher than any other metro statewide since 2025.

SmartAsset's latest report, "Cost of Raising a Child in Major U.S. Metros – 2026 Study," calculated year-over-year changes in the annual cost of raising a child (factoring in childcare, additional housing costs, food, transportation, medical costs and other necessities) in the 48 largest U.S. metro areas. MIT's Living Wage Calculator was used to compare the living costs of a household with two working adults and one child to that of a childless household with two working adults.

Childrearing costs in Dallas-Fort Worth have grown 4.5 percent since last year, totaling $23,340 for a family of three in 2026. That's over $1,000 more than what it took to raise a child in 2025, and it's $1,414 higher than what it took in 2024.

This is how SmartAsset broke down the cost for raising a child in Dallas:

Cost of childcare: $10,736
Cost of food: $1,826
Other expenses: $10,778

Though Dallas has the second-steepest costs for raising a child in Texas, the metro is actually much more affordable than most other places in the U.S.: DFW ranked 39th in SmartAsset's national list of cities with the highest childrearing costs in 2026, making it the 10th most affordable U.S. metro for raising a family.

San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont in California topped the list with the highest childrearing costs in the U.S., at $43,171. The cost for raising a child in this California metro soared nearly 11 percent higher since last year.

Memphis, Tennessee ranked dead last as the most affordable U.S. metro for raising a child in 2026. Families will spend less than $20,000 to raise a child in Memphis, only 3.24 percent more than what was needed in 2025.

Raising a child in other Texas metros
It may come as no surprise that Austin is the most expensive place to raise a child in Texas, and it appeared as the 31st most expensive U.S. metro for families. Parents will spend nearly $25,000 to raise a child in the state's capital city, which is $703 higher than it was a year ago.

Meanwhile, San Antonio-New Braunfels is the most affordable metro in the Lone Star State for raising a family, and it's the third-most affordable place for raising a child nationwide. San Antonio parents will spend $21,393, or $448 more than last year, on their childrearing costs.

Houston also ranked among the top 10 most affordable U.S. metros for raising a child, landing in 7th place nationally, with childrearing costs adding up to $22,605 in 2026. That's only $737 more than last year.

The top 10 most affordable U.S. metros for raising a child in 2026 are:

No. 1 – Memphis, Tennessee ($19,922)
No. 2 – Nashville, Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, Tennessee ($21,216)
No. 3 – San Antonio-New Braunfels ($21,393)
No. 4 – Birmingham, Alabama ($21,684)
No. 5 – Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, Virginia ($22,314)
No. 6 – Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Georgia ($22,470)
No. 7 – Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands ($22,605)
No. 8 – Richmond, Virginia ($22,658)
No. 9 – Louisville/Jefferson County, Kentucky ($23,270)
No. 10 – Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington ($23,340)

family dallas fort worth arlington smartasset reports livability